I have asked about this before, but now that we are in the heat of summer, it is more concerning to me.
This child was drinking water and milk routinely at my house until mid March. I was on vacation for spring break and when the kids came back, she started refusing to drink all liquids I have offered since then. I am thinking mom was just giving her juice the week I was gone, so now she just holds out all day knowing she will get juice when she gets home? I believe this to be the case, since I asked DCG if she drinks anything at home and she started listing all the different types of juice she drinks at home. (I have never offered juice here, because I have always felt children get enough sugar elsewhere)
Both mom and I have talked to her about the importance of drinking fluids. Nothing has changed in four months. Now that it is summer, I worry more about her becoming dehydrated with the combination of the heat, physical exertion and not drinking anything all day.

Is she urinating ok? I would reiterate to mom my concern and leave it at that. As long as she is urinating at my home I would not worry. Kid is being stubborn. All of my kids here barely drink anything all day. They might pee once a day. I know they all drink a TON of milk and juice at home so itís not my concern.

I would try and give watery fruits though on really hot days, like watermelon, melons etc. And maybe set up a self serve drinking station with little cups. That might encourage her.

I put cut up strawberries in a pitcher of water and I add them to their water bottles that we take outside. Itís strawberry season here and they are cheap right now. I had a couple of juice drinkers that refused water but they will drink the strawberry water. Maybe that would work for your dcg.

I am thinking mom was just giving her juice the week I was gone, so now she just holds out all day knowing she will get juice when she gets home?

Both mom and I have talked to her about the importance of drinking fluids.

Nothing has changed in four months.

Nothing has changed because MOM hasn't made the necessary changes her child needs.

Honestly, I would refuse to be part of this scenario since daycare is always liable.
When a parent creates an issue for the child and the provider is the only one truly concerned, it's time to bow out.

I know you said mom has talked to her but seriously come on... this is a child.
The parent is suppose to parent; not just "talk" to the child and hope they make the right decisions.

If you don't want to bow out all together, I'd start giving the issue back to mom.
If the child has refused to drink anything within a 4 hour period, I'd call for pickup.

I would never consider adding flavorings or sugar (even artificial sweeteners) to a child's drink.

Human beings need water. Placating her and offering her alternatives isn't solving what will be a lifelong issue.
It's simply giving in because no one wants to do the hard work of being the adult that knows better.

I would just mention to Mom every few days that she's still not drinking anything. Not as a nag, just a part of the rundown on her day. For example, I have a 2.5 year old that gets a lot of milk at home, so she has little rabbit pellet poops and struggles to poop. Once or twice she's been constipated, so I tell the parents every day at pick up if she pooped or not. We know that every few days is normal for her, so if she poops here or at home, we'll tell each other and then we know that she's fine and it doesn't need to be discussed for a few days. I wouldn't want her to get badly constipated and have no one know about it.

In your case, Mom knows so every day isn't necessary, but every few just to let her know it's still an issue so that it can't be said you didn't tell them there was a problem. "Good day, ate a lot but she's still not drinking a thing." I'm a fan of keeping things simple, so I wouldn't go way out of my way to change anything to entice her to drink, but ice cubes are cool to look at and listen to when you're drinking so if you want to do something to encourage her a little without adding sugars and such, you can always do that. Yes, everyone will want some but you can do where you only add it at the beginning of the day and then they only get more ice with refills. My 1.5 year old loves to shake her sippy cup and hear the ice cubes clink.

I think sometimes, the more of an issue you make it, the more the kids dig their heels in. Just like food, I'd offer her water/milk as usual. She gets to decide to drink or not. A four year old is old enough to figure out if she's thirsty or not. She'll drink when she's ready...even if it means she waits until she gets home and drinks juice. Food/water are part of a battle I refuse to engage in with kids because I know I won't win. If it's that hot or she's that active that heat exhaustion is a real concern, I'd give her a choice - sit quietly in the shade or drink something but I'd leave the choice up to her.

If I felt she was dehyrdated to the point of it being a health concern, I'd have her sit down with a water bottle while everyone else is doing something really exciting, and tell her she can go join them as soon as she finishes her water. I'd probably put about 4 oz in the bottle and make it part of EVERYONE's routine.

I would just mention to Mom every few days that she's still not drinking anything. Not as a nag, just a part of the rundown on her day. For example, I have a 2.5 year old that gets a lot of milk at home, so she has little rabbit pellet poops and struggles to poop. Once or twice she's been constipated, so I tell the parents every day at pick up if she pooped or not. We know that every few days is normal for her, so if she poops here or at home, we'll tell each other and then we know that she's fine and it doesn't need to be discussed for a few days. I wouldn't want her to get badly constipated and have no one know about it.

In your case, Mom knows so every day isn't necessary, but every few just to let her know it's still an issue so that it can't be said you didn't tell them there was a problem. "Good day, ate a lot but she's still not drinking a thing." I'm a fan of keeping things simple, so I wouldn't go way out of my way to change anything to entice her to drink, but ice cubes are cool to look at and listen to when you're drinking so if you want to do something to encourage her a little without adding sugars and such, you can always do that. Yes, everyone will want some but you can do where you only add it at the beginning of the day and then they only get more ice with refills. My 1.5 year old loves to shake her sippy cup and hear the ice cubes clink.

If a child has rabbit poop that is constipation. Every single one of those pebble poops is constipation. And constipation is primarily caused by not drinking enough liquid.

If a child has rabbit poop that is constipation. Every single one of those pebble poops is constipation. And constipation is primarily caused by not drinking enough liquid.

Right, that's why we discuss it so much. She's the 2nd dck I've had that did this. They drink a ton of milk at home. We know that she poops every few days, so as long as she's doing that, the parents are fine with it. I just wouldn't want her to have gone a week without pooping and no one realizes it. They can't say they didn't know this way......

2. Schedule routine water breaks where everyone has to stop to drink water

3. Turn it into a game. Give each child a small amount of water and make them ALL chug it down. I certainly wouldn't advise making them all chug down a full 8 oz cup of water, but a couple ounces shouldn't be a problem. See who can finish their water first.

4. Set a 5 minute timer for each water break. When a child has finished his or her water, s/he may resume playing. If DCG decides not to drink, fine, but she isn't allowed to leave until time is up OR she finishes her water. If she doesn't finish her water, dismiss her, but don't make a big deal about it. Don't give her attention for not drinking water while praising her friends for drinking theirs.